Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of a petition to support Bill C-544 from over 100 citizens of Alberta.

The petitioners say that horses are usually kept as sport and companion animals. They say that they are not raised for food processing and are given certain drugs that are prohibited from being used by humans.

The first petition is in support of the Stolen Sisters and the need for sufficient funding to continue the important work of protecting women through the Sisters in Spirit initiative and investing in initiatives recommended by the Native Women's Association of Canada to help prevent more women from disappearing.

The petition is signed by hundreds of people. It is quite timely, in light of the working group on murdered and missing women across the country and many of its recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in support of Bill C-544. It deals with the fact that horses in our country are ordinarily kept and treated as sport and companion animals and are not raised primarily as food producing animals.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to amend the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act, thus prohibiting the importation or exportation of horses for slaughter for human consumption as well as horse meat products for human consumption.

Mr. Speaker, my riding is one of the most beautiful in all of Canada, with some of the most productive farmland in the entire country. It is also known as the equestrian capital of Canada. I have been asked by a number of people in my riding to present a petition that would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting the next in a series of petitions of importance to tens of thousands of Canadians who are afflicted with multiple sclerosis.

The petitioners call on the federal Minister of Health and provincial ministers of health to discuss allowing hospitals, private clinics and individual doctors to test for and treat CCSVI in all Canadians who so desire testing and treatment and to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial for the evaluation of venography and balloon angioplasty for the treatment of CCSVI in persons diagnosed with MS.

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from citizens across many communities and from all walks of life who want Parliament to know that they genuinely support and value the contributions of our veterans and that they regard a veteran as a veteran regardless of which deployment or where an individual may have served.

The petitioners join the Veterans Ombudsman and General Walter Natynczyk in condemning the new Veterans Charter and the Department of Veterans Affairs for creating barriers to serving Canada's veterans.

The petitioners also demand that existing services, such as veterans hospitals, be mandated to serve modern day veterans, including the more than 200,000 members of the armed forces who have served in peacekeeping missions since the Korean War.

The petitioners want a full hearing in the House of Commons in response to the issues of pensions, special care, programs, services and the preservation of an independent Department of Veterans Affairs and that Parliament act to ensure veterans and their families receive the supports that they have been promised and to which they are entitled as members of the armed forces past, present and future.

Mr. Speaker, once again I rise on an issue of employment insurance. Many signatories to this petition went through a lot of stress recently because they almost faced the cancellation of the best 14 weeks program and other pilot projects that were so helpful in the region, especially those affected by hurricane Igor.

The petition I present today was put together by the FFAW, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I thank it for doing this. The petition comes from primarily two plants, one being on Fogo Island, the Fogo Island Co-op, and the other being the Beothic Fish Processors Limited in Valleyfield, New-Wes-Valley. The petitioners are mostly from those regions.

I would like to compel the government not only to reconsider a small extension on the best 14 weeks pilot projects, but to consider placing these programs as permanent.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this petition. The petitioners note that the current recipients of old age security in Canada have duly contributed to Canadian society for at least 10 years and decreasing the residency requirement for pension eligibility would be a disincentive for new Canadians to work, contribute and integrate into Canadian society.

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from my riding of Hamilton Centre and surrounding areas regarding support for Bill C-544, which deals with the issue of the exporting and importing of horses for human consumption.

Mr. Speaker, my petition calls on the Canadian government to negotiate with the United States government to reduce the United States and Canadian passport fees. The number of American tourists visiting Canada is at its lowest levels since 1972. It has fallen by 5 million visits in the last 7 years alone, from 16 million in 2002 to only 11 million in 2009.

Passport fees for an American family of four could be over $500 U.S. While 50% of Canadians have passports, only 25% of American citizens do.

At the recent Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments, attended by myself and over 500 other elected representatives from 11 border states and 3 provinces, a unanimous resolution was passed as follows:

RESOLVED, that the...Conference calls on President Barack Obama and [the Canadian] Prime Minister...to immediately examine a reduced fee for passports to facilitate cross-border tourism; and be it further

RESOLVED, that [the Conference] encourage[s] the governments to examine the idea of a limited time two-for-one passport renewal or new application;

To be a fair process, passport fees must be reduced on both sides of the border. Therefore, the petitioners call on the government to work with the American government to examine a mutual reduction in passport fees to facilitate tourism and to promote a limited time two-for-one passport renewal or new application fee on a mutual basis with the United States.

With respect to the Canada Revenue Agency, as of June 15, 2010: (a) how many taxpayers has the agency identified as having over-contributed to a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009; and (b) how much tax revenue has the Agency identified as being owed to the government due to TFSA over-contributions in 2009?

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), as of June 15, 2010, it was determined that for calendar year 2009, 72,786 individuals may be in excess contributions, i.e., contributions over $5,000. This represents less than 2% of the 4.8 million Canadians who contributed to a tax-free savings account, TFSA.

In response to (b), at this time, the CRA cannot provide the information in the manner requested as it is still in the process of establishing the amounts owed to the government due to TFSA over contributions in 2009.

With regards to sea lice: (a) what is the current state of sea lice outbreaks in the west coast fisheries; (b) what has been the state of sea lice outbreaks in the west coast fisheries over the past 30 years; (c) what is the current state of sea lice outbreaks in any fishery in any region; (d) in what region was sea lice most prevalent in the past year; (e) in which rivers were sea lice outbreaks most prevalent (i) this year, (ii) over the past four years; (f) in which ports were are sea lice outbreaks most prevalent (i) this year, (ii) over the past four years; (g) have any sea lice outbreaks shown resistance to chemical pesticide control (i) in the past year, (ii) in the past 30 years; (h)what, if any, are the recorded instances of sea lice resistance to chemical pesticide control (i) this year, (ii) in any year for which the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has records; (i) what is the effect of sea lice on the Fraser River sockeye salmon run; (j) what causes sea lice outbreaks; and (k) do sea lice outbreaks have an effect on wild salmon populations and, if so, what is that effect?